Canna lilies nestle along the banks of the lake. They're orange and yellow and Ethan is staring at them thinking they'd look pretty in my hair, and I'm staring at him thinking they'd look prettier in his hair.

And I'm also thinking he's so oblivious and it's inconvenient.

We sit at the river bank, soaked picnic basket between us and denims—still too wet to be comfortable—sticking to our legs.

"Dude, I'm starving now." Ethan lifts a soggy sandwich and a stream of water leaks down his arm.

I salvage a pitifully tiny packet of chips from the bottom of the basket. "These should be okay."

"I didn't know they made packs this small." He sounds dazed, cupping the mini-pack in the palm of his hand. You can fit like five chips in here?!

I sigh, throwing him a sideways glance. "Well, someone got our sandwiches all wet. I didn't pack much else because I made five different kinds."

Ethan groans, leaning back on a big rock. "Please describe them to me. Did they have tomatoes?"

"Two of them did. Do you like tomatoes?"

"Oh yes, they're my favourite vegetable. After french fries."

"I don't think either of those count as a vegetable."

"They totally do," he argues. "Plus, I like broccoli." They're like tiny little trees and I feel like a big Dino munching on the forest. Ethan steeples his hands, fingers bouncing on each other.

I smile at his mental image. The sun lazes on warm grass. Green blades stick to my elbows as I lean back. Ethan rips open the pack of crisps and offers me one as he lays back next to me.

We watch the clouds skimming across the sky, the feathery wisps mimicking the shape of Ethan's curls tickling my neck. They mould and transform into a plethora of shapes.

"That cloud looks like Darth Vader," he says, pointing to one shaped like a helmet. It's wide at the base, narrowing into a round top.

I squint my eyes against the sun. "It looks more like a dickhead."

The shock that passes through him before he bursts into laughter makes me chuckle too. Ethan holds his sides, curling up as he dissolves into giggles.

"Hahaha- seriously." He runs a wrist over his cheeks. "His helmet DOES look like that." I never expected LUKAS to say something like that!

"You never noticed? Maybe that's why you like him so much," I joke, flicking a blade of grass his way.

"Wha-at?" He's still laughing but internally he starts to freak out a little. What does he mean by that? Is he teasing me?

Instantly regretting my word choice, I try to change the topic. "Wh-why do you like Star Wars so much anyway?" I stammer out.

"Ahh, I dunno...I guess it just reminds me of my childhood?" His thoughts turn nostalgic. "It's not that deep really. My dad used to take me to a lot of comic cons, and they were always really fun."

I chew on the side of my nail. "That's kind of why I like music. When I listen to old songs on the record player it's easy to imagine everything is...just the same as it was the first time I heard it."

Ethan nods. "Exactly!" It's like a sense of control. "Plus I guess I just...liked escaping from reality. Most of the time I imagined I was from another planet," he plucks at his laces, not meeting my eye, "and sometimes I felt like I really was."

Tenseness radiates off him, and I try to lighten the mood. "Yeah I can imagine you as an alien. Maybe one of those, uh- little sand people."

"Hey! Why a sand person?" He shoves my knee playfully. "I thought I was a cool robot at least."

His eyes crinkle at the corners, warm brown with flecks of golden honey. They're so alive. His chest rises and falls in an unsteady rhythm. My lungs fill with oxygen each time draws a breath.

"Definitely not a robot," I say.

Ethan swallows hard, throat bobbing as he stares at me. Leaves rustle as a bird settles on the branch above us, chirping. His gaze falls to my lips. I want to kiss him.

His fleeting thought takes ahold of me with a vice-like grip. He imagines twisting his fingers in my hair and pulling me in. His lips part, and I can feel his breath warm the air between us.

Fuck, he's so pretty.

My eyes widen. Ethan thinks I'm pretty. I mean, I know he stares at me all the time. But when he thinks it just then, my heart flips over in my chest.

This is probably really stupid. Ethan bites his lip distractingly. And now Lukas is looking at me weird. Am I staring? I'm definitely staring.

He turns away to stare back at the lake. Damn this, I can't even look at the lake without thinking about his insanely blue eyes.

"I'm sorry about today," he says suddenly. I ruined it.

"I-what?" His words are so far removed from his thoughts that it catches me off guard.

"For the," he tilts the picnic basket, letting the water pour out, "oar breaking and the lake falling. But especially for the sandwich ruining." I always mess up everything.

His words are light so I try to chuckle and wave them off. But his thoughts make the sound come out dry and hoarse. You don't ruin anything, I want to scream. But I can't.

Ethan drags his fingers through his hair. "Okay, next time I'm bringing food," he promises. "I'll make a whole...a barbecue or something. I'll even light a cool bonfire and cook it in front of you, like in those fancy restaurants." God, I want to kiss him so bad. Also, how the fuck do I make a barbecue??

His thoughts are all over the place and I can't even think straight. I can't exactly kiss him right now when his mind is so confused. Unrelated strands of memories and questions all buzz around me like flies and I swat them away.

"What are you doing?" Lukas can just say no to the picnic, he doesn't have to flap me away!

"No no! I mean, yes! The bonfire sounds really cool! It's just that there's a- uhh...bee that I was waving away." I turn bright red, trying to come up with an excuse. "I'm just really allergic."

"Oh my god." Ethan jumps to his feet, looking more agitated than necessary. "It stung you! Lukas! Where's your epipen?" OH MY GOD DO I HAVE TO STAB HIM.

"No!" I squeak out. "I don't have an epipen." PLEASE DON'T STAB ME. "I'm not stung."

"Fuckkk." He tears his hands through his hair. "We gotta get you to the hospital; you're definitely stung." His entire face is bright red! He's having a horrible allergic reaction and...oh my god he's going to die. Ethan paces the forest floor. There is no way we can get to the hospital in time. Lukas is DYING tonight.

"I'm not- I'm not allergic!" FUCK. How did this whole thing escalate so much? And also, is my blushing problem so bad that I literally look like I'm breaking out in allergies?

I take a deep breath and resign myself to sounding like an absolute fucking moron. "I'm just...really scared of bees."

A/n: I saw this pic of canna lilies and I thought they'd look so pretty nestled by a riverbank :)